This one unfolded in Tyler, Texas yesterday. David Hernandez Arroyo was in the middle of a bitter child support dispute. As his ex-wife arrived at the courthouse yesterday Arroyo was waiting with an AK-47. He killed her with is first shots and then aimed for and shot his son. At that point Mark Wilson happened on the scene. Mark Wilson is a civilian. He wasn't a law enforcement officer. Mark Wilson did, however, have a gun on him. Wilson started firing at Arroyo as Arroyo was trying to finish his son off. Wilson was killed in the exchange. Another civilian with a gun started firing at Arroyo, who ran to his pickup and fled. Arroyo was cornered by police a short time later and killed.

Arroyo's son is alive today. He's alive because a civilian with a gun intervened. This is just one of the instances yesterday where a civilian with a gun saved either his life or someone else's. You won't see most of these stories on the air. The Tyler story will probably make it to the news because it is too sensational to be ignored. Watch for the role of the civilian to be minimized.

But the real lesson for an ex-law enforcement type that occassionally runs into nasty fellows from a prior life just outside the courthouse is that we need laws like Pennsylvannia, where one can check a gun at the courthouse and thus not be disarmed going to and from the courthouse (right, Mike from Philly?).

This was the same lesson I drew from that video of the lawyer being shot outside the courthouse in California last year.

Not only is a courthouse a good place to find disarmed victims, but often whatever happens in the courthouse is the reason someone wishes you harm in the first place. In addition to those to factors, the violent predator unfortunately has a pretty good idea of when he can find you going to or from the courthouse, and, in Georgia, he knows you are guaranteed to be disarmed!

I resent not being able to check my gun at the courthouse anymore, especially since nobody batted an eye when I checked it as a police officer. Am I somehow more violent now? Is my life somehow worth less?

I wouldn't had made you check your gun at the courthouse, but I could guarantee the liberal judges up in Haralson County would have had a fit. After constant nagging and bickering, the local judges were able to coerce Sheriff Kimball to issue an order to ban all firearms in the courtrooms. Not even the bailiffs could carry in the courtroom, but the rest of the courthouse was fair game.

I had a conversation with a young man with whom I go to church who is also a Deputy in the Sheriffs dept of Henry county. I was explaining to him about some of the STUPID laws concerning concealed carry and about not being able to carry at schools and such. The gist of his conversation was that he didn't want anyone near a school with a loaded firearm because whether they carry legally or not they may have had a bad day. Well, I think LEO's can have bad days too. Did anyone read about the plain clothes guy that attacked a homeschool kid at a park? Jeez what an idiot. Anyone should be able to protect themselves no matter where they are at any time of the day or night. But all in all he said that if he were not a LEO he would carry concealed to protect his family all the time whether or not he was legally able to do so or not at all. In other words, if you are carrying concealed, no one knows, no one gets hurt according to him. I try to remain legal and do the right thing, boy is it a pain in the BUTT......

The story above does highlight the reason Good Citizens should be able to be armed (virtually all the time). It's sad that one of the Good Guys lost his life, but this is a great story to show politicians . . . again and again.

A question: Is there a possibility of putting a new function on this site so that members or visitors can post news articles and GeorgiaPacking.org can "warehouse" them? These articles would make a great tool for assisting in making the case for lawful use of firearms by good citizens.

Regarding LEOs and private citizens, this is a point that needs to be hammered home: Do Law Enforcement Officers have some special character that private citizens CANNOT possess? Are LEOs superhuman and thus incapable of making bad judgements with a weapon? Shouldn't the private citizen have the RIGHT to carry unrestricted, if they show that they are law-abiding citizens of sound character, capable of the safe carry and use of a deadly weapon?

The answer is obvious. While I hold the Law Enforcement profession in the utmost esteem, I do know a few LEOs on a personal basis! They will be the first ones to tell you that some in the profession should not have a badge, yet they still carry a gun and all the powers attendent to their office.

My argument for unrestricted concealed carry is that it is the RIGHT of every adult Georgia Citizen to carry their chosen means of self-defense, once they prove to their fellow citizens that they are not one of the Bad Guys (otherwise known as crooks, gangsters, rapists, murderers, etc.).

This article in the February 28, 2005 Forth Worth Star-Telegram at least acknowledges:

Friends remember Mark Alan Wilson as a man who was defending his home when he tried to stop a gunman who opened fire on the Smith County Courthouse square. "He saw evil in the city streets of Tyler, and he acted instinctively and decisively to stop it with no regard for his own safety," friend Russell Harris told a crowd of about 200 people who attended a memorial in Tyler for Wilson, 52. Wilson died Thursday afternoon after grabbing his gun and heading to the courthouse square to confront David Hernandez Arroyo Sr., 43, who was armed with a semi-automatic rifle. Arroyo killed his ex-wife, Maribel Estrada, 41, and Wilson. He wounded three law enforcement officers and his own son. Police credited Wilson with saving the life of David Hernandez Arroyo Jr.

I had a conversation with a young man with whom I go to church who is also a Deputy in the Sheriffs dept of Henry county. . . . The gist of his conversation was that he didn't want anyone near a school with a loaded firearm because whether they carry legally or not they may have had a bad day.

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And the current law will stop somebody who has "had a bad day" from committing mass murder, how, exactly?

I had a conversation with a young man with whom I go to church who is also a Deputy in the Sheriffs dept of Henry county. . . . The gist of his conversation was that he didn't want anyone near a school with a loaded firearm because whether they carry legally or not they may have had a bad day.

Click to expand...

And the current law will stop somebody who has "had a bad day" from committing mass murder, how, exactly?

Click to expand...

This "had a bad day" argument the sheep use all too often makes me sick. Any citizen with an automobile could wreak just as much or more havoc on a school, park, etc. I can picture someone mad about getting stuck in traffic in a school zone after the final bell rings for the day. They could easily just "gun" the throttle and mow down countless kids and administrators. Is anyone arguing that autos should be kept out of school zones?

I like this story because it illustrates a scenario with multiple good guys and one bad guy. Antis always say that if we were allowed to carry at school, we'd shoot each other just as soon as we would shoot the bad guy in an emergency. But, that didn't happen here. The second guy to start shooting knew exactly who the bad guy was. There were no civilians shooting each other, and this was with two armed civilians and police involved.